Lineover Wood

Butterfly Report

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Tricia Atkinson Lineover Wood Volunteer Group February 2014

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Results of 2013 monitoring in Lineover Wood

2013 was a very good year for both in the wood and elsewhere. We had sunny, hot and dry weather in July and part of August which is the peak flight time for most species of butterfly that are in the wood.

The total number of butterflies recorded on the transect increased by 90% from 942 last year to 1791 this year. This is the highest count since 2009 and the 7 th highest count in the 23 years of recording so far.

Results The results are presented as tables and figures as follows:-

Table 1 Total butterflies recorded each week Page 5 Table 2 Total butterflies recorded in each section Page 6 Table 3 Total butterfly species count for each year Pages 7,8 Table 4 Extra butterflies recorded Page 9 Table 5 First and last butterflies recorded Page 10 Figure 1 Graph of number of butterflies recorded each week Page 11 Figure 2 Number of butterflies recorded in each section Page 12 Figure 3 Total number of butterflies recorded each year Page 12 Figure 4 Number of butterflies recorded in each section 1991-2013 Pages 13, 14 Figure 5 Trends for several species Pages 15, 16 Figure 6 Map of sightings of Silver-washed Fritillary Page 17 Figure 7 Map of transect and sightings of extra butterflies recorded Page 18 Figure 8 Weather records from 2003 to 2013 Page 19

A walk was carried out every week although the first two weeks were too cold to satisfy the weather criteria. The Transect Walker software estimated counts for these weeks and these are shown in red font. The criteria for acceptable weather is temperature greater than 17C or greater than 13C (11C in April) and sunshine greater than 60%. Table 1 shows the weekly counts and the weather conditions during which the recording was carried out.

The main features of the butterfly recording in 2013 are:

• The spring was cold which resulted in few butterflies flying in the first 13 weeks of the recording season. Numbers didn’t start increasing until week 14, the first week in July. This is one or two weeks later than average (see Fig 1).

• The summer was hot and dry and the number of butterflies rose dramatically with a peak of 450 recorded in week 16. This is more than twice the average count for this week.

• Butterfly numbers rose in all sections, but in Section 8 this rise was only quite small. In sections 3 and 7, the two areas, the total count was the highest since 2006 which was also a hot summer.

• The whites (Small White, Large White and Green-veined White) did particularly well after a run of poor summers.

• Small Tortoiseshell and Common Blue made slight recoveries after several poor years.

• Peacocks did very well and with the exception of the boom year of 1996, produced their highest count.

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• One butterfly species which did not do well was the Red Admiral, with only 6 sightings throughout the whole summer. However as this is a migrant species, numbers vary greatly from one year to another.

• Silver-washed Fritillary fared well and showed a strong recovery after the last two poor years. It has its highest count since 2007.

• Marbled White continued its recovery after several poor years, although still in low numbers compared to 2005 and 2006.

• Ringlet and Meadow Brown were recorded in high numbers and as in most years, Meadow Brown proved to be the most numerous species recorded. Surprisingly, Gatekeepers did not do well and continued to decrease in number.

• Several White-letter Hairstreak were recorded on the transect. The main place where they are seen are in the large Wych Elm tree in section 1. Purple Hairstreak are not recorded on transect walks as they are usually only active in early evening which is outside the transect recording time. However several were recorded in the wood, details of which are in Table 4 and shown on the map in Figure 7.

Silver-washed Fritillary The number of Silver-washed Fritillary recorded on the transect rose from 10 last year to 49 this year which is the highest count since 2007. Their flight time was quite late due to the cool spring and the first one recorded was not until 8 th July. (Often one or two are seen at the end of June.) However, they did carry on flying later with the last one recorded on 23 rd August.

Sightings both on and off transect walks are shown on a map in Figure 6. Many were recorded in the usual spots, Piccadilly and Section 9, but also several were recorded in other areas as well. Three were recorded in the bottom of the wood and two were recorded on Ravensgate. This usually happens in years when there is good weather as the butterflies fly further from their breeding area. Most are just seeking new nectar sources but if a female finds a suitable new habitat and lays her eggs there, there is a chance that new colonies will be set up and the butterfly will expand its range.

Despite a good summer, no Valesina form of this species was recorded this year. This could be due to the cool conditions in the spring when the larvae and pupa were developing, as the Valesina form is traditionally only found in the warmer area of southern mainly in Hampshire.

Weather In general April, May and June were cold, dull and dry. July was hot, sunny and dry. August was also warmer, sunnier and drier than average but not as hot as in July. September was a mixed month but on the whole cooler, drier and duller than average. Overall the summer was dry but temperatures and sunshine levels were about average. More detail can be seen on the charts in Figure 8.

As the hot weather in July coincided with the flight times of many butterfly species, these fared very well and high numbers were recorded.

Comparison with other sites Official results from butterfly transects in 2013 are not yet available, but at Ravensgate which is adjacent to the wood, total number increased by a similar amount. Nationally, it was generally considered that it was a very good year for the species which fly in the summer in particular the Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and the Whites. In fact in

3 some areas, it was reported that many species of butterfly were ‘very numerous’ and ‘too many to count’.

Silver-washed Fritillaries were recorded in high numbers in many woods similar to Lineover and also seen at many non-woodland sites including some gardens showing how much they dispersed this year.

As in Lineover, Gatekeeper and Red Admiral were also low in number on Ravensgate and The Masts reserve.

The spring species eg the Orange Tip did not generally fare so well and because of the cool spring and the late emergence of this species, several were still seen locally into July which is much later than usual.

Management of the wood A continual programme of woodland management by the Lineover Wood Volunteer Group has created a good habitat for many species of butterfly.

Looking at the charts for trends for each section (Figure 4), it seems that the increase in numbers in Section 8 was not as large as expected. Looking at the butterflies which were recorded in Section 8 (Table 2), it appears that there were few Peacocks, Meadow Browns and Ringlets compared with Section 9, a similar section. However there were many Speckled Wood recorded in this section. Section 8 is a shorter section and not so open but it is something that ought to be monitored in future years. Maybe the area between section 8 and 9 which was coppiced the previous winter might affect numbers recorded in these two sections.

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Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Total Index Mean Temp 10 16 16 15 18 21 17 14 14 17 17 19 18 21 23 27 26 28 20 22 24 19 22 18 18 20 Mean Sun 100 5 84 100 75 98 10 82 95 100 92 10 65 100 100 100 50 100 94 100 0 10 19 59 72 98 Small 3 2 5 8 2 2 22 22 Essex Skipper 1 1 1 Small/Essex Skipper 0 0 Large Skipper 13 4 5 22 22 0 0 Grizzled Skipper 0 0 Clouded Yellow 2 2 2 Brimstone 2 6 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 7 24 24 Large White 1 4 1 1 1 6 10 30 6 2 1 2 1 66 66 Small White 1 5 9 32 11 37 4 5 2 2 108 108 Green-veined White 4 5 10 11 5 2 1 1 29 23 29 4 3 4 3 3 1 138 138 Orange-tip 12 2 3 1 2 20 20 Green Hairstreak 1 1 1 Purple Hairstreak 0 0 White-letter Hairstreak 3 3 3 Small Copper 0 0 Small Blue 0 0 Brown Argus 0 0 Common Blue 1 2 2 5 5 Chalkhill Blue 0 0 Holly Blue 0 0 Duke of Burgundy 0 0 White Admiral 0 0 Red Admiral 1 3 1 1 6 6 Painted Lady 0 0 Small Tortoiseshell 3 2 2 1 8 8 Peacock 2 4 3 7 3 1 1 38 22 56 25 5 5 1 1 1 173 175 Comma 1 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 5 2 20 20 Dark Green Fritillary 1 1 1 Silver-washed Fritillary 18 11 14 1 4 1 49 49 Speckled Wood 2 1 4 9 6 9 3 6 2 9 11 28 1 7 3 16 8 20 11 18 3 9 186 186 Wall 0 0 Marbled White 7 37 27 14 3 88 88 Grayling 0 0 Gatekeeper 10 10 8 4 1 33 33 Meadow Brown 20 41 167 72 125 35 12 7 2 481 481 Small Heath 1 1 2 2 Ringlet 28 66 174 49 10 5 332 332 Total 0 2 4 6 28 13 13 24 21 17 6 8 7 61 130 450 271 307 163 118 33 45 20 25 9 12 1791 1793 Table 1. Lineover Wood 2013. Total butterflie s recorded each week

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Table 2. Lineover Wood 2013 – Total butterflies recorded in each section

Section 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Small Skipper 20 1 1 22 Essex Skipper 1 1 Small/Essex Skipper 0 Large Skipper 3 1 17 1 22 Dingy Skipper 0 Grizzled Skipper 0 Clouded Yellow 2 2 Brimstone 2 3 4 1 3 4 7 24 Large White 11 2 11 5 3 1 13 6 14 66 Small White 16 13 11 3 9 26 12 16 2 108 Green-veined White 9 23 20 19 10 12 20 24 1 138 Orange-tip 1 2 8 3 3 3 20 Green Hairstreak 1 1 Purple Hairstreak 0

White-letter Hairstreak 3 3

Small Copper 0

Small Blue 0

Brown Argus 0

Common Blue 1 4 5 Chalkhill Blue 0 Holly Blue 0 Duke of Burgundy 0 White Admiral 0 Red Admiral 1 1 1 3 6 Painted Lady 0 Small Tortoiseshell 1 1 2 3 1 8 Peacock 5 1 22 7 3 1 68 4 62 173 Comma 331 229 20 Dark Green Fritillary 1 1 Silver-washed Fritillary 1 1 7 8 3 3 7 18 1 49 Speckled Wood 18 4 4 5 14 16 4 89 26 6 186 Wall 0 Marbled White 21 59 3 5 88 Grayling 0 Gatekeeper 14 1 1 9 8 33 Meadow Brown 19 1 196 61 15 3 143 8 28 7 481 Small Heath 2 2 Ringlet 6 3 47 30 19 12 107 42 65 1 332 Total 90 11 365 157 98 60 496 204 292 18 1791

No. of species in section 11 5 17 14 12 11 19 14 18 6 24 Section length (m) 400 200 220 300 300 100 400 200 300 200 2620 Butterflies per 100m 23 6 166 52 33 60 124 102 97 9 68

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Table 3. Lineover Wood – Total butterfly species count for each year Years 1991 - 2002

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Number of species 22 22 25 29 25 24 29 23 25 24 23 22

Small Skipper 20 12 13 13 55 21 33 4 20 3 9 36 Essex Skipper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Small/Essex Skipper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Large Skipper 2 21 53 109 118 43 31 23 109 20 33 20 Dingy Skipper 3 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Grizzled Skipper 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Clouded Yellow 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brimstone 19 72 18 27 39 110 56 55 31 40 5 21 Large White 30 108 19 30 63 25 41 73 46 30 7 57 Small White 19 30 21 59 82 27 10 16 20 34 7 23 Green-veined White 63 106 67 173 126 122 214 262 138 104 31 123 Orange-tip 8 22 29 37 28 38 26 39 21 23 0 19 Green Hairstreak 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Purple Hairstreak 00031510674 4 19 White-letter Hairstreak 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 Small Copper 1 0 3111017 4 3 3 2 4 1 Small Blue 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brown Argus 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Common Blue 27 12 7 3 35 68 21 4 3 0 5 2 Holly Blue 20 7 1 0 0171818 2 2 0 0 Duke of Burgundy 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 3 White Admiral 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Red Admiral 9 14 8 16 30 129 8 23 21 8 0 0 Painted Lady 0 4 0 5 2318 1 1 1 4 8 8 Small Tortoiseshell 20 46 17 15 60 60 38 14 7 15 1 2 Peacock 74 168 65 131 158 368 160 103 118 67 12 15 Comma 31 18 4 5 27 21 69 14 17 7 24 69 Dark Green Fritillary 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 9 Silver-washed Fritillary 25 44 28 75 61 91 92 17 20 6 2 0 Speckled Wood 121 167 117 128 147 80 141 203 241 158 64 164 Wall 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Marbled White 54 102 51 69 97 139 174 117 121 85 108 103 Gatekeeper 15 28 23 72 72 162 137 53 137 93 78 134 Meadow Brown 153 437 228 433 812 542 405 297 443 238 275 277 Small Heath 8 11 5 18 31 17 20 9 6 2 1 0 Ringlet 82 168 157 196 254 168 178 201 178 121 172 191

Totals 804 1598 939 1635 2328 2587 1886 1555 1712 1068 856 1309

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Table 3. (Cont) Lineover Wood – Total butterfly species count for each year Years 2003 - 2013

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Avg Number of species 24 26 24 27 24 21 20 27 25 20 24 24

Small Skipper 26 28 97 36 9 8 5 16 21 1 22 22 Essex Skipper 0 5 5 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 Small/Essex Skipper 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Large Skipper 25 35 32 43 39 20 22 67 55 13 22 44 Dingy Skipper 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 1 Grizzled Skipper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Clouded Yellow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Brimstone 33 27 26 42 32 31 17 27 27 11 24 36 Large White 36 22 139 34 22 42 111 44 50 7 66 49 Small White 82 41 154 31 48 44 74 40 24 4 108 42 Green-veined White 121 128 141 100 97 94 340 171 181 33 138 138 Orange-tip 65 19 19 10 16 15 13 38 48 19 20 25 Green Hairstreak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 Purple Hairstreak 3 5 26 2 7 4 5 0 0 0 0 5 White-letter Hairstreak 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 Small Copper 16 4 0 1 1 0 0 8 3 0 0 4 Small Blue 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Brown Argus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 Common Blue 46 32 15 36 3 3 11 79 27 1 5 21 Holly Blue 1 5 2 4 1 7 0 3 3 1 0 6 Duke of Burgundy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 White Admiral 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Red Admiral 17 5 18 26 19 10 5 8 39 11 6 20 Painted Lady 6 1 0 6 0 0 56 0 0 0 0 19 Small Tortoiseshell 42 26 4 8 1 1 6 6 6 0 8 20 Peacock 63 62 96 107 121 59 89 97 54 31 173 107 Comma 22 14 23 57 17 7 31 34 22 5 20 21 Dark Green Fritillary 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 Silver-washed Fritillary 25 20 35 81 72 28 38 39 17 10 49 39 Speckled Wood 206 186 252 214 171 170 209 210 299 139 186 174 Wall 0000000000 0 0 Marbled White 68 112 157 178 83 102 40 50 42 75 88 98 Gatekeeper 125 148 149 194 184 133 99 36 54 50 33 101 Meadow Brown 393 595 594 571 257 369 419 270 161 296 481 389 Small Heath 4 15 12 2 0 0 0 3 4 1 2 8 Ringlet 247 235 191 271 267 304 376 390 227 232 332 218

Totals 1673 1776 2191 2066 1471 1455 1966 1643 1372 942 1791 1614

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Table 4. Extra butterflies recorded in Lineover Wood in 2013

For location see map of Lineover Wood (Figure 7)

Date Wk Butterflies Seen Location Recorder 7 May 6 1 Brimstone In wood going to Ravensgate TA

3 Ruby Tiger moths Section 7 (A on map) 25 Jun 13 Many Grass Rivulet moths Section 7 (A on map) PA 6 Chimney Sweeper moths

1 Red Admiral Above Mary’s seat (B on map) 1 Holly Blue 1 Clouded Yellow (probable) heading NW 19 July 16 1 White-letter Hairstreak Section 1 (In Wych Elm) (C on JC map) 2 Purple Hairstreak Old railway line (D on map) 22 July 17 2 Red Admiral Bottom of wood off Cotswold JH 3 Comma Way (E on map) 1 Silver-washed Fritillary 6 Marbled White 53 Meadow butterflies 13 Whites

1 Red Admiral Bottom of wood off Cotswold 1 Small Tortoiseshell Way by cleared area (F on 1 Peacock map) 2 Silver-washed Fritillary 10 Marbled White 43 Meadow butterflies 24 Whites 2 Aug 18 3 White-letter Hairstreak In Wych Elm, Section 1(C on PA&TA map)

12 Peacock Above Mary’s seat (B on map) 1 Holly Blue 2 Aug 18 2 Purple Hairstreak By Old Dole Farm 985188 (H JC on map) 18 Aug 20 10+ Purple Hairstreak Old railway line (D on map) JC

20+ Purple Hairstreak 986192 (J on map) 22 Aug 21 5 Purple Hairstreak Old railway line (D on map) JC

10+ Purple Hairstreak 986192 (J on map)

10+ Purple Hairstreak 985191 (K on map) 26 Aug 22 2 Small Tortoiseshell Bottom of wood off Cotswold JH 2 Brimstone Way (E on map) 16 Whites 13 Meadow butterflies

1 Brimstone Bottom of wood off Cotswold 25 Whites Way by cleared area (F on 7 Meadow Butterflies map)

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Table 5. First and last butterflies recorded 2013

As the weather in March was so cold, there were no butterflies recorded before the transect recording started in April.

Last butterflies recorded

Date Butterflies Location Recorder 6 Oct 1 Comma By wall in Nigel’s field TA (at work 1 Peacock party) 1 Red Admiral

25 Oct 1 Peacock By wall in Nigel’s field PA

First and last sighting of Silver-washed Fritillaries

Date Butterflies Location Recorder 8th July First Silver-washed Fritillary Triangle PA & TA

23 rd Aug Last Silver-washed Fritillary Section 9 PA & TA

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Figure 4. Number of butterflies in each section 1991 – 2013 Sections 1 – 5

NB: Scales for each chart are different

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Figure 4. Number of butterflies butterflies in each section 1991-2013 Section 6 – 10

NB: Scales for each chart are different

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Figure 5. Trends for several species

NB. Scales for each chart are different

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Figure 5. (Continued). Trends for different species

Meadow Brown Ringlet

900 450 800 400 700 350 600 300 500 250 400 200 300 150 200 100 100 50 0 0 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

NB: Scales for each chart are different

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Figure 8. Weather records from 2003 until 2013 (Average of observations from Ross-on-Wye and Oxford)

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